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Possibility of different forum software or added features?


Thundercraft
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Don't get me wrong: I am very appreciative of the fact that we have an official forum to give feedback, share our ships, stations and discoveries, mention our servers, report bugs, etc. However, I've noticed this forum lacks certain features that are common on most other forums and which I find myself sorely missing. In particular, there does not seem to be any way to (1) [search] the forum for certain topics, words or phrases; (2) search through [members] to find someone specific, such as to see their latest posts or when they last visited the forums or (3) give a post a [like], [thumbs up] or [karma].

 

For that matter: Has it just been that long ago since I last visited the forums, or did you change the forum software or look?  ??? Maybe my memory is fault, but it does not look or behave the way I seem to remember it.

 

Regardless, it would be wonderful if you considered finding a way to add a few more features to the forum sometime down the line. Though, I do realize that what I'm asking for is not as simple as it sounds.  And I would understand if this is deemed too low a priority or too much of a hassle. In particular, I suppose switching forum software might entail losing forum data or entire topics and many would probably consider that not worth the price.

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(1) There's a Search button at the top of the page. You can select which forums to search, and wildcard a username (Thunder* found all your posts), though you need to include a word for the search to work.

 

(2) You can click on a users name in any post to go to their profile and see that information; there is a button to show users posts in their profile.

 

(3) I've been reading the forums for quite some time - and the need to 'downvote' someone simply doesn't exist, same for 'upvotes', if a post helped you - then reply and say thanks, or pm them. If you really feel the need to 'vote' - Knock yourself out!

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(1) There's a Search button at the top of the page.

Now that you've pointed it out, I can see it. But since it is located near the very top of the page and since there is that huge banner separating the [search] from the main forum bar, with the Topic Title and the rest of the forum functions, it was extremely easy to miss. No wonder I did not notice it!

 

You can select which forums to search, and wildcard a username (Thunder* found all your posts), though you need to include a word for the search to work.

I'm glad that it has such functionality. However, this is not at all intuitive. And this seems to work a bit differently from the search functions of every other forum I have used (which is quite a few, since I've been a member of over a hundred forums over the years).

 

(2) You can click on a users name in any post to go to their profile and see that information; there is a button to show users posts in their profile.

Yes. I knew we could do this. However, in order to click on a user's name in a post of theirs, we first have to find a post that they've made. If we came to the forums from elsewhere, such as a Discord chat, and, say, just wanted to check the last time they visited the forums (and maybe send them a PM message) or see if they're even a member of the forums, that's much easier said than done. Also, if it has been more than a year since they last posted to the forums, it would be difficult to find a post they've made.

 

Most of the better forum software that I'm familiar with have a [Members] function. This lists all members and has a search function to allow members to search for a specific member.

 

(3) I've been reading the forums for quite some time - and the need to 'downvote' someone simply doesn't exist, same for 'upvotes', if a post helped you - then reply and say thanks, or pm them. If you really feel the need to 'vote' - Knock yourself out!

My actual suggestion for (3) was to, quote "give a post a [like], [thumbs up] or [karma]". Nowhere did I suggest the need to 'downvote' someone. And I agree that there is no need for this. For that matter, I see little purpose in giving a specific member an 'upvote' or whatever.

 

I specifically mentioned "giving a post", as in giving a specific topic post a 'thumbsup' or '+1' or similar. Granted, we can always reply to a topic with a simple "+1" or "thumbs up" to someone's comment or suggestion. However, people are inherently lazy. Some are too lazy to reply to a topic with a meaningful sentence that adds to the conversation, but are more than willing to simply click on a [thumbsup] button or similar.

 

Also, based on my experience with other forums, I know that some people will complain when someone replies to a topic merely to give a "+1" to someone's suggestion without - as I said - replying with a meaningful sentence that actually adds to the conversation. But forum software that allows a [thumbsup] or [+1] to a post solves this issue as I've never seen anyone complain about the function when someone uses it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

You've been here for 2 years and posted 250 times but never noticed the 'Search' button? Haha.

 

Anyway, I don't see any need for a 'topic-thanks' button. I also I do not recall having ever seen any forum use it more than a few times on large posts. I believe that our forum would not benefit from 'thanks' buttons, but I would welcome it.

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